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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28493259">What Remained</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/onyxcoffeelove/pseuds/onyxcoffeelove'>onyxcoffeelove</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Onyx Equinox (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:01:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28493259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/onyxcoffeelove/pseuds/onyxcoffeelove</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A conversation between Izel and Xanastaku on the way to Tenochtitlan.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What Remained</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>If you haven't watched Onyx Equinox on crunchyroll yet, you're missing out! The first couple of episodes are a bit rough, but the second half of the season is more than rewarding enough!</p><p>Anyways, this is my first attempt at writing anything in a long time and English is not my first language, so constructive criticism is welcome.</p><p>I'll also be posting my writing over on tumblr @onyxcoffeelove.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They had set up camp for the night.<br/>
Tenochtitlan was close, yet not close enough to justify marching through unknown territory. Besides, they were tired.</p><p>Izel’s gaze wandered from the waning moon over the various constellations scattered across the sky, checking for any dangers. Facing the sheer destructiveness of the tzitzimimeh at Mictēcacihuātl’s command had shaken all of them. The gods had servants everywhere, above, below, all around them, ready to strike at any time they pleased. Running was an option, hiding successfully a luxury. Tenochtitlan would offer them cover, at least for a little while.</p><p><em>Once they stop bickering</em>, he heard Yaotl say with such worry in his voice, it made Izel’s heart clench.</p><p>“You can go to sleep, you know?” Xanastaku spoke softly, a bare whisper against the twins’ combined snores, halting his train of thoughts. “It was a long day and you’re still healing.”</p><p>Izel smiled, gently balancing a sleeping Meque on his forearm while shifting closer to his companion. Whatever had caused the little creature to transport them to Tajín, he would always be grateful for the outcome. Xanastaku’s wisdom and abilities were a huge benefit for their group, as was her presence alone. <em>She is a good person</em>, he thought.</p><p>“It was more than just <em>a</em> long day,” his gaze roamed over the surrounding bushes warily, “there were many long days and there are even more ahead of us. We’ll have to be prepared for anything the Gods might throw at us.”</p><p>“What’s the plan, then?” Folding her hands in her lap, she looked at him. Izel couldn’t quite place the emotions behind her expressive eyes. Perhaps worry or insecurity. They had not known each other long enough to be able to read each other, yet. With Nelli, he had been able to tell her mood by the smallest things: the way she had held her head, how she had combed her fingers through her hair, the slightest changes in the tone of her voice. With Xanastaku, as well as with Yun and K’in, he still had a lot to learn, so they could function better as a unit.</p><p>“First, we’ll get into the city,” the fire crackled, flames hissing softly as a log splintered from the heat, “we’ll have to be careful. Maybe sneak in with other travelers, try to blend in. I might have to cover my eyes, so we won’t draw too much attention to ourselves.”</p><p>He sighed. What was he even talking about? Who was he to form a strategy? Lead the way, Xanastaku had said, but where to? How would he ensure his friends’ survival now, when he had seen all of their corpses hanging from Mictēcacihuātl’s hands just earlier today?<br/>

“What then?” The look in Xanastaku’s eyes had changed, he noticed. A slight shift towards something warmer, more comforting, encouraging him to continue.</p><p>“Tenochtitlan is home to many temples. If there’s a god, you’ll find at least one of their temples there. We must find Quetzalcoatl’s. He remade us after the destruction of the Fourth Sun and he betted against our demise. With a bit of luck, even though I chose not to play his game, he hasn’t changed his mind about humanity’s worth and his disciples will offer us shelter. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”</p><p>They sat in silence for a while, exhausted but not tired, adding more wood to the fire, watching and listening for any potential dangers, comfortable in each other’s company. A particularly loud snore drew Izel’s attention towards the twins.</p><p>As brothers, <em>twins</em>, they shared many traits, yet their sleeping positions were completely opposite. Yun lied on his side, his front facing towards the fire. He had tucked his arms and legs close to his body, making him appear far smaller than he was. His head rested on K’in’s shoulder. K’in, who was lying on his back, limbs sprawled without any sense of order. Even sleeping, they kept the ball close. Loosely cradled in the nook of K’in’s elbow, they would be ready to use it at once, if the situation called for it.</p><p>Oh, how Izel had envied them upon their first meeting. How he had hated them for having everything he had lost. Now he was glad for them. Nelli wouldn’t want him to begrudge them their luck. It was pitiful. She had raised him better than that.</p><p>From the corner of his eye, he caught a motion. Xanastaku was rubbing her right thumb over the knuckles of her other hand repeatedly. Slowly, not wanting to startle her, Izel reached out to gently touch her shoulder, mindful of the young priestess’ fear of physical contact. From what he had gathered thus far, her former master had not always treated her kindly. She had learnt to be cautious when within reach of others. On top of that, she was afraid to inflict pain herself due to her powers.</p><p>The initial touch surprised her, yet she didn’t shy away from him. Instead, she met his eyes.</p><p>“I heard what you said,” she bit her lower lip, worrying the flesh a bit before eventually continuing, “I heard what you said about Nelli. I heard your words through Mictēcacihuātl, as though they resonated deep within her. I felt something, something from her, but I’m not sure what it was.”</p><p>“She suffered from losses by the hands of the Gods as well,” Izel recalled the brief flashes of Yaotl’s memories, the images and raw emotions, his screams the result of their pain as it had echoed through him. “I’m sure you know her legend far better than I do. How Mictlantecuhtli took her from her people and forced her to become his queen. How she developed compassion for us. How she granted Quetzalcoatl access to the bones he needed to remake us, after the Fourth Sun was destroyed.”</p><p>“I learnt that she was kind and merciful,” Xanastaku grimaced, “but that was before I met her in person, of course.”</p><p>“She grew cold and bitter after Tezcatlipoca stole her happiness, her heart,” Izel wasn’t comfortable with the knowledge he now possessed. It was useful, sure, without it he would have never been able to pick up a shield and use it successfully upon first try. He had simply tapped into Yaotl’s memories and allowed his body to act accordingly. Still, it was an invasion of something deeply personal.</p><p>“What do you mean by that? I don’t remember any legends about him having her heart. Was she in love with him?” She spoke up slightly, causing Meque to grunt in his sleep. Immediately, Xanastaku blushed and adjusted her tone. “How do you know any of this?” She asked with obvious perplexion.</p><p>“When you healed me, I saw things,” it felt as though he was admitting to a crime, “I think it was memories. Before he became an emissary, Yaotl lived in Tenochtitlan and was chosen to be Tezcatlipoca’s ixiptla. I saw glimpses of his final year before he was sacrificed. I wasn’t sure what to make of it until Mictēcacihuātl confirmed it.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” hands balled into fists, Xanastaku bowed her head, hiding her face in shame behind thick long hair, “I didn’t mean to. He said to use him, I - I…”</p><p>“It’s alright,” tightening his hold on her shoulder lightly, Izel tried for an encouraging smile, “it’s not your fault. You healed me and even if he had known that by offering his energy, I would learn these things about him, he probably would have offered just the same. It’s just who he is. Or, who he was. He’s actually got a good heart, he just didn’t remember it.”</p><p>The ghost of a smile crossed her lips. “Do you think that he’ll be alright?”</p><p>Izel took a moment to think before he answered. “Yes,” he said, trusting that inner voice he had only just discovered earlier that day, “he was Tezcatlipoca’s champion for a reason. He...it’ll be alright.”</p><p>Xanastaku nodded thoughtfully.</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>It had taken a while until Izel’s exhaustion had finally turned into fatigue, making his eyelids slowly heavier and his breathing more even.</p><p>K’in and Yun still snored peacefully next to him and even Xanastaku began to doze off. Meque had curled into the fabric of his shirt, sending comforting little rumbles against his chest, lulling Izel gently to sleep.</p><p>They had not chosen this path in the beginning. They had quarrelled. They had suffered from loss, from injuries, even from death.</p><p>Yet they had survived. Together. </p><p>What remained, was their freedom. What remained was their friendship.</p><p>What remained was hope.</p>
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